The Piledriver Report 10.14.12: WrestleMania 29’s Major Matches

In a little less than six months from now, the WWE will present the twenty-ninth installment of WrestleMania. According to the rumor mill, the folks at Titan Towers are starting to put the plans into motion as to what the main matches of the show will be. These same reports show that a couple of the main matches at WrestleMania XXIX are rematches of some of the biggest matches from this past calendar year.

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The Rock vs. John Cena II for the WWE Championship: The build-up to WrestleMania XXVIII’s main event of The Rock vs. John Cena was “Once in a Lifetime.” This was supposed to be the dream match of this generation. The Rock vs. John Cena match, in my opinion, lived up to its billing. I thought it was a really good match, and the most intense match of WrestleMania XXVIII. The crowd reminded me of the One Night Stand 2006 pay per view. The fans would have been devastated if Rob Van Dam did not leave the show as the WWE champion. At WrestleMania XXVIII, the fans would have been equally disappointed if The Rock’s hand wasn’t raised in his hometown. The Rock being victorious was the perfect ending for the WWE’s biggest show of the year. This is why I don’t want to see another Rock/Cena showdown. You had the perfect atmosphere, the perfect result, and a pretty good match. Why ruin a once in a lifetime match on a re-run? Even if the second match between the two is better, the anticipation and build-up would not be anywhere close to the yearlong build-up of their initial encounter.

Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H II: While not a WrestleMania rematch, the main event of SummerSlam has already served its purpose. That was to give Brock his heat back as a monster heel, which took a slight hit when Lesnar jobbed to John Cena at the Extreme Rules pay per view. What is the viable reason for Triple H to fight Brock Lesnar again? Is it just to give Triple H his win back? If so, that’s a dumb reason. It would be one thing if Triple H and Brock were feuding against each other on a house show circuit, or if Brock Lesnar was signed to a long term deal and he was just another WWE superstar. However, this is not the case. Triple H is a special attraction wrestler, who no longer works the house show tour. Brock Lesnar was only signed to a one year contract. Lesnar fought John Cena. He took on Triple H. It’s now time for Brock to move on to bigger and better things, as his WWE contract comes to a close.

CM Punk vs. the Undertaker: The reasoning behind having this match makes perfect sense. The angle would be that Punk wants to end the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak in order to finally gain everyone’s respect. CM Punk vs. the Undertaker match hasn’t been done in years. It would be a fresh match for the WWE to present, unlike the two rematches that would be used to try to sell the show. I do like this pairing, and have nothing against this rumored contest being held at WrestleMania. A high profile WrestleMania match for Punk against the Undertaker would cement his status even further as a WWE main event performer. However, there is a reason way I’d prefer that the WWE not have CM Punk and the Undertaker face each other at WrestleMania XXIX. It’s called a dream match.

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CM Punk vs. The Rock: My top choice as CM Punk’s WrestleMania opponent would be Steve Austin. However, since The Rock and Brock Lesnar will be the special attractions on the show, combined with the fact that Austin is recovering from surgery and may not be ready for the show, I will hold off on thinking about Punk vs. Austin for another year. There are a couple of reasons why I want to see Punk face The Rock at WrestleMania XXIX. First, the WWE and CM Punk have slowly built up a match with The Rock for almost the past year. A year build worked for Cena/Rock, and the same could be said for Punk/Rock. Punk has taken jabs at The Rock ever since it was announced that The Rock was going to be in the main event against John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII. Add the Punk heel turn a couple of months ago at the 1,000th episode of RAW when Punk attacked The Rock at the end of the show, and I can’t wait for the two men to lock up with one another. Next, both men are awesome on the mic. The promos between the two during the WrestleMania build-up would be amazing. Plus, once they get into the ring at WrestleMania XXIX, you know that the match will deliver.

Brock Lesnar vs. the Undertaker: This is a match that is two years in the making. On October 23rd, 2010, following Lesnar’s UFC Heavyweight title loss to Cain Velasquez, the Undertaker and Brock had a worked altercation with one another. It appeared that plans were in the works for the Undertaker to take on Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXVII. Unfortunately, Dana White put a stop to that. However, that all changed earlier this year after the WWE signed Brock Lesnar to a one year contract. It was pretty much assumed that the main event of WrestleMania XXIX would be Brock Lesnar against the Undertaker. The former UFC Heavyweight champion would be the biggest challenge to the streak ever. The Undertaker would offer Brock Lesnar a unique challenger. After all, what other wrestler in the WWE uses mixed martial arts holds in his repertoire. OK, maybe Daniel Bryan, but the WWE wouldn’t book Bryan as a threat to Lesnar. At least not now. In Brock vs. the Undertaker, the WWE has the most serious threat to the streak against the most serious threat to the “next big thing.”

Dolph Ziggler cashes in the Money in the Bank briefcase: It hasn’t been done before. No one has cashed in their Money in the Bank briefcase at a WrestleMania event. It would be nice for Dolph Ziggler to be the first. It doesn’t matter who is the SmackDown! champion at the show. While Ziggler is a great performer, and could steal the show at WrestleMania, I’d rather Dolph cash it in after two other competitor’s wrestled for the World Heavyweight championship. I think there would be more shock value to a surprise cash in then if Ziggler used his briefcase to get a scheduled WrestleMania World title match, ala Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand 2006. Of course, unlike John Cena at RAW 1,000, I would like to see Ziggler capture the title when he hands over the briefcase.

John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan: I have a selfish reason for wanting to see a John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan match at WrestleMania XXIX. I think Daniel Bryan is the best wrestler in the company. Plus, Bryan’s promos are almost as good as his work rate. Daniel Bryan should be a main event performer in the WWE. A match with John Cena would be a nice sign by the WWE to show that they are behind Daniel Bryan as one of the company’s main event wrestlers. By facing John Cena at WrestleMania, you can pretty much guarantee that Daniel Bryan’s Mania match would be longer than eighteen seconds. The only negative in a possible John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan encounter would be the build-up. I’m sure we would have to with six weeks of stupid “goat face” jokes that John Cena would bring to the table. Despite those cringe worthy promos, it would be worth it in the end, as the two would probably have a fantastic match against each other. At WrestleMania, that’s what you want; one great match after another.

This is my list of major matches that I want to see at WrestleMania XXIX. What are yours? Post your matches below.